10 Side Effects of Turmeric for Health You Ought to Know

Who doesn’t know turmeric? This particular spice is quite popular in almost every Indonesian cuisine. It’s so easy to find turmeric in this tropical country. In the past, turmeric has been relied on to treat all kinds of diseases before it is known as modern chemical drugs like today. Turmeric has various benefits for our health. So, no wonder if turmeric is one of the rhizome plants which is favored by a lot of people. Not only used as a spice for dishes, but also as herbs and medicine.

Turmeric is useful for maintaining a body’s metabolism, especially the digestive system. The benefits of turmeric in addition to that are to help heart function, cell regeneration, and even beauty. Various kinds of beauty and health products nowadays contain turmeric in them.

However, in some further studies, the use of turmeric as a traditional medicine can cause quite adverse effects. It happens if turmeric does not go through the proper process of maturation and preparation, and of course excessive consumption. The followings are the side effects of turmeric for health which may occur after a long period of consumption.

1. Bleeding

The active ingredient in turmeric is effective for inhibiting platelet clumping. Platelets are beneficial for the body especially for the process of wound healing. If the platelets clot, automatically, the wounds will not be able to quickly recover.

At this time, the role of Curcuma in turmeric is needed to help platelets unfreeze. However, excessive Curcuma will cause uncontrolled platelets and cause severe bleeding, and for that case, you should know the treatments for bleeding, including the causes and treatment of gum bleeding.

2. Fetal Disorder

Curcuma in turmeric is very effective to overcome digestive problems. In fact, it’s said that turmeric is a natural ingredient for laxatives. For pregnant women, consuming turmeric during pregnancy period is not advised.

Turmeric can interfere with fetus’ health condition caused by the mother’s faster digestion due to turmeric consumption. This condition will cause the mother to become weak and the absorption of nutrients for the fetus will decrease.

3. Miscarriage

If Curcuma contained in turmeric enters the digestive tract, it will lead to a reaction to the stomach, intestine, or even uterus. If this condition is left untreated, the mother with the unborn will end up experiencing the miscarriage in the first trimester. Therefore, it is recommended for pregnant women not to consume it both in its natural form, and when it’s combined with other ingredients as drugs, and stay alert for any signs of miscarriage without bleeding when they do consume turmeric during pregnancy.

4. High Stomach Acid

Turmeric is not recommended to be consumed by people with the ulcer or other similar gastric disorders. The amount of Curcuma allowed to be consumed per day is only 100 mg. Consuming a large quantity of turmeric is not permitted because it can cause an increment in stomach acid production. For people with the ulcer, they will feel nauseous and even vomit if the condition left unchecked. It is good for ulcer sufferer to consume turmeric according to the doctor’s instructions if they must consume it to treat other diseases such as cholesterol or acute flu. 

5. Diarrhea and Constipation

Side effects of turmeric for health also include diarrhea and constipation. It is because turmeric contains Curcuma which is cleansing, anti-inflammatory, and very influential to digestive organs. Thus, it is totally natural if you experience constipation after turmeric consumption. However, if the amount of turmeric that enters the body is far too much, it will cause severe constipation, or it can lead to diarrhea. Turmeric can be used as a laxative because it can remove bacteria from the stomach, but it is recommended to be consulted with a doctor first.

6. Interfering with Chemotherapy

Curcuma contained in turmeric is not recommended for cancer patients, because it can deteriorate a patient’s health condition, especially if the patients undergo chemotherapy. The results of chemotherapy to cure cancer will decrease or not be able to be seen at all by consuming turmeric. So, it’s not permitted for cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy to consume turmeric and some other foods which interfere with chemotherapy, including food to avoid during chemotherapy for breast cancer.

7. Digestive Problems

As already explained, turmeric has a big role in neutralizing digestion, cleansing, and helping with the digestive tract. However, the result will be reversed if the consumption of turmeric is excessive. It will turn out disturbing gastric function and interfere with intestinal performance.

8. Allergy

Allergy due to excessive consumption of turmeric can occur to the skin. Skin pores might look wider, and sometimes red spots can appear and disappear at times. For patients who are having a fever at the moment, these spots will appear more often, so you should not ignore the causes of long-term fever. 

9. Urinary Bladder Infection

Another side effect of excessive consumption of turmeric is a urinary bladder infection. When no longer needed by the body, turmeric is unable to secrete its active components and will pile up in urinary bladder or kidney. This condition is indicated by a different yellow substance secreted together with urine.

10. Shivering

In certain cases, the consumption of turmeric will cause shivering sleep, could be at night or dawn. If shivering occurs, but no treatment is given or the consumption of turmeric keeps on high, it may cause shortness of breath at night.

Consuming turmeric is allowed, but keeps in mind, in a reasonable amount. The same thing is recommended for the use of turmeric as an herbal medicine. Consumption of turmeric to treat diseases should be first consulted to a doctor to avoid any side effects mentioned above. Therefore, it is important to also consult medical history or previous illness to better understand the right treatment for the disease.

A Few Tips on How to Process Turmeric

There are a few tips that might help how to consume turmeric. No need to be confused about how to process turmeric to improve health:

• First, is to boil or to burn turmeric using a pan or any cooking utensils made out of aluminum and drink the turmeric concoction immediately after.
• The safe duration of consuming turmeric is for two consecutive months.
• More than two consecutive months of consuming turmeric will be a boomerang for the body with several side effects.

That’s all about the side effects of turmeric for health you ought to know. Hopefully, it will be useful to all of you.